Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn (R) and Armenian National Assembly President Alen Simonyan. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI – President of the Armenian National Assembly Alen Simonyan and his entourage left Hà Nội on November 23 morning, successfully wrapping up their official visit to Việt Nam.

During the visit, Simonyan and the Armenian NA delegation paid tribute to late President Hồ Chí Minh at his mausoleum in Hà Nội.

At the NA House, NA Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn chaired the welcome ceremony for NA President Alen Simonyan and the Armenian NA delegation. Immediately after the welcome ceremony, the two NA leaders held talks.

Within the framework of the official visit to Việt Nam, NA President Alen Simonyan and the Armenian delegation were received by Party General Secretary Tô Lâm and State President Lương Cường.

This is the first official visit to Việt Nam by a head of the Armenian legislature after more than 30 years of establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries, demonstrating that Armenia treasures traditional relations and multi-faceted cooperation with Việt Nam in all fields.

At the talks and meetings, the leaders of both sides agreed that in recent times, relations between Việt Nam and Armenia have seen good development steps in all fields. High-level exchange activities and meetings have been promoted.

In addition, bilateral economic and trade cooperation has been strengthened. Trade turnover in the first 10 months of 2024 reached nearly 424 million USD, an increase of 28.9% over the same period in 2023. Armenia has invested in a number of direct investment projects in Việt Nam. Việt Nam has also encouraged its businesses to invest in Armenia, especially in advantageous sectors such as agriculture, food processing, and textiles.

Considering that the potential and advantages between the two countries are still very large, the two sides agreed to continue promoting the exchange of high-level and all-level delegations, effectively deploying existing cooperation mechanisms and agreements, contributing to consolidating political trust between the two countries; and promote the implementation of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) - Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement to create strong and breakthrough changes in bilateral economic and trade cooperation.

The two sides consented to increase exchanges and provide information for each other on issues of mutual concern and each side's foreign policies; and continue to coordinate effectively at regional forums, and support the stance of ASEAN and Việt Nam on the East Sea issue to resolve disputes by peaceful means, on the basis of international law, the United Nations Charter, and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), especially in issues related to peace, stability, and sustainable development.

The two governments will accelerate negotiations and sign cooperation documents, creating a legal framework for agencies, organisations, people, and businesses to promote exchanges and explore markets and opportunities for cooperation and investment and exchange of goods in each specific field, especially plant and animal quarantine, mutual recognition of product quality certification, and avoidance of double taxation.

The top legislators agreed to continue to exchange and reach consensus on the granting of scholarships for exchange students between the two countries; and continue to organise regular cultural exchange activities. They proposed relevant agencies of both sides consider preferential visa policies to create favourable conditions for citizens when traveling and learning about culture.

The two NA leaders assessed that the relationship between the two legislatures has been maintained, contributing to promoting Việt Nam-Armenia bilateral relations. However, the exchange of delegations at all levels is not frequent, mainly on the sidelines of multilateral conferences and forums such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), and the Francophone Parliamentary Alliance (APF).

To further strengthen the relationship between the two NAs, they agreed to increase meetings and exchange of delegations between NA leaders, NA agencies, and NA deputies of the two countries, and exchange experience in building laws and perfecting institutions to serve each country's development and parliamentary activities.

The two sides consider signing a cooperation agreement between the two parliaments to create a legal framework to promote and deepen parliamentary cooperation, contributing to building political trust, mutual understanding, and cooperation between Việt Nam and Armenia.

The official visit to Việt Nam by the Armenian NA President was an important milestone, contributing to promoting the bilateral relations between the two legislative bodies and between the two countries in the new period. VNS